Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
is one of the better Godzilla films, but it
is still plagued by several faults. It's
a mixed bag, but nevertheless, the pros outweigh
the cons. Godzilla is back as a juggernaut
of destruction, and Ghidorah, though no longer
a destroyer of worlds, is still the pawn of
the film's true antagonist as he cuts
a path of destruction through Japan. Also
worthy of note, this is probably the single
most confusing Godzilla film in history, due
to a time travel subplot that poses an apparent
paradox at first glance.

The movie begins in the year
2204 as a futuristic submarine discovers the
massive form of a golden dragon. Partially
decapitated, the three-headed beast barely
clings to life…

In the present, Kenichiro Terasawa,
a wealthy writer renowned for his science
fiction work, pursues an interesting story
surrounding a veteran of the Second World
War who claims that a dinosaur saved Japanese
troops on Lagos Island. Terasawa concocts
a theory that the Bravo H-Bomb tests in 1954
mutated that very dinosaur into the nuclear
leviathan of today: Godzilla. This is further
supported by pictures he obtains of the dinosaur,
which bear a clear resemblance to Godzilla.

Meanwhile, the inhabitants
of a UFO that was recently sighted over Japan
reveal themselves to be humans from the year
2204. They claim to have returned from the
future in order to stop Godzilla from ultimately
destroying Japan. They also confirm that Terasawa's
theory about Godzilla's origin is indeed
correct, and they plan to return to Lagos
during the Second World War to keep the dinosaur
from ever mutating into Godzilla. One of their
members, Emmy Kano, along with their android,
M11, return to the past with Terasawa, Miki
Saegusa, and paleontologist Professor Mazaki.
The dinosaur (a Godzillasaurus), having suffered
severely from his encounter with American
troops, is teleported to the Bering Sea. There,
it is surmised, he will never have the opportunity
to mutate into the monster he is today. But
in the midst of this temporal tinkering, three
genetically mutated animals from the future
(Dorats) are set free on Lagos Island…

The time travellers'
true intentions are revealed in the present.
Though Godzilla has disappeared, the three-headed
golden hydra King Ghidorah has taken his place.
As the merciless dragon quickly cuts a path
of destruction across Japan, an unthinkable
defense strategy is considered: send a nuclear
submarine to the Bering Sea to mutate the
Godzillasaurus into an opponent for King Ghidorah.
However, it isn't discovered until the
eleventh hour that the Godzillasaurus was
already mutated by a nuclear submarine wreck
years earlier. With a double-dose of radiation,
Godzilla now rises from the depths, a staggering
100 meters tall! The question now is what's
worse? The bioengineered, madmen-controlled
nightmare King Ghidorah, or the living weapon
of mass destruction himself, Godzilla?

The plot is one of the film's
best aspects. For one, we finally have a precise
origin for Godzilla, something never fully
revealed in the Showa era. Time travel is
an interesting device; however, there is an
apparent paradox to this subplot, particularly
due to the fact that although Godzilla is
apparently removed from the timeline, everyone
appears to remember him (and people continue
to remember the events of the pre-Godzilla
vs. King Ghidorah movies in subsequent
films). The only logical explanation is that
by moving the Godzillasaurus to the Bering
Sea, the 1980's Godzilla was born of the earlier
nuclear accident mentioned in the movie. Not
only can The
Return of Godzilla (1984) and Godzilla
vs. Biollante (1989) occur in the
altered timeline, but Godzilla
(1954) can also logically occur simply because,
as stated in the Japanese version of The
Return of Godzilla (1984), it's a
different Godzilla. Another intriguing plot
point is the idea of intentionally creating
a new Godzilla to defeat King Ghidorah, which,
in turn, leads to the ironic necessity of
reviving King Ghidorah to deal with the insurmountable
menace that is Godzilla.

Acting is a bit of a mixed
bag, especially when compared to the superior
performances of the previous film. While Anna
Nakagawa (Emmy Kano) does manage to stay afloat,
Kosuke Toyonaka (Kenichiro Terasawa) ranges
from too flat in some scenes to over-the-top
in others. On the other hand, Yoshiyo Tsuchiya's
portrayal of Yasuaki Shindo is one of the
strongest in the film; he shows real emotion
and his “face off” with Godzilla
towards the climax of the film (combined with
the sorrowful musical accompaniment) makes
this scene one of the greatest in Godzilla
history. As always, Megumi Odaka pulls off
her role as gifted psychic Miki Saegusa in
great fashion, this time coming across as
less distant. The two main human villains
of the film, Wilson and Grenchiko (Chuck Wilson
and Richard Berger respectively) prove to
be proficient villains. They manage to make
their characters very slimy and duplicitous,
but some of their mannerisms are still rather
cliché. Speaking of which, Robert Scott
Field's handling of villain-turned-hero
M11 is pretty much a combination of all theatrical
android standards, but he still manages to
give a rather descent performance with what
little he's given.

Likewise, the monsters and
effects are a mixed bag. Godzillasaurus is
realized fantastically; he actually looks
like Godzilla as a dinosaur! The Big G is
an improvement over the previous film, appearing
far more physically powerful and vicious thanks
to the removal of some of the feline attributes
that defined his previous façade. His
atomic ray and nuclear pulse are also excellently
rendered; his breath weapon boasting crimson
streaks that connote even greater power. While
King Ghidorah is definitely an improvement
over his Showa counterpart, the monster as
a whole still lacks in some areas. During
the flight scenes, the wings barely move and
the entire effect appears too stiff. On the
other hand, his gravity beams are a sharp
improvement. The necks lack the floppiness
that plagued the original suit. There does
appear to be a greater level of neck control;
however, they tend to come across as too stiff
at times. Though King Ghidorah is an overall
success, this incarnation pales in comparison
to Grand King Ghidorah's suit several
years later. Mecha-King Ghidorah is probably
the shining star of the film. He appears more
realistic than his fully organic counterpart,
and the variety of weapons (beam-based and
otherwise) are all quite successful. On the
other hand, the Dorats are just stinkers effects-wise.
Though unrealistic, their cuteness factor
and the scene where they can be seen crying
shortly after they're set loose on Lagos
Island does make one feel for these victims
of circumstance. Finally, the miniatures are
a superb success (especially the futuristic
vessels), as is the control room aboard the
UFO (known affectionately as MOTHER). While
somewhat reminiscent of other standard sci-fi
control rooms, it's still a pretty cool
environment that stands apart.

Music, on the other hand, shines
all the way around, as this film marks the
triumphant return of Akira
Ifukube. Godzilla's theme is ominous
and fitting, as usual. The UFO's accompaniment
is rather engaging, and as an interesting
side note, this theme is a remake of the battle
music from the Japanese version of King
Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) (even more
interesting due to the fact that this film
was originally meant to be a remake of the
1962 film). M11's pursuit of Emmy and
Terasawa is another theme worthy of note.
It starts out ominously before it mutates
into faster, sci-fi fare. King Ghidorah's
theme is also quite fitting, updated with
a heavier emphasis on bass.

In closing, Godzilla vs.
King Ghidorah has its pluses and minuses,
but overall it is a solid work worthy of any
Godzilla fan's collection. Just be prepared
for the time travel confusion, because it
can appear paradoxical at first glance (and
therefore requires a greater knowledge of
the Heisei timeline to fully grasp). Those
who can look past the shortcomings of this
movie will likely find it a very enjoyable
cinematic getaway.